Post War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction

The Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Auction realised a total of £23,020,650 / $36,833,040 / €28,614,668, selling 87% by value.  The top price was paid for Martin Kippenberger’s Untitled (from the series Hand-Painted Pictures) (1992), which sold for £3,117,250 ($5,083,600 ⁄ €3,949,322), a world record price for the artist at auction. 4 lots sold for over £1 million / 10 for over $1 million. With buyers from 18 countries across 4 continents, 25% of lots sold above estimate and record prices at auction were established for 4 artists, including Martin Kippenberger (1953-1997), Idris Khan (B. 1978), Rebecca Warren (B. 1965) and Jonathan Wateridge (B. 1972).

Francis Outred, International Director and Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art, Christie’s Europe commented: “Tonight’s auctions made a combined total of £41.1 million, selling 91% by value. Nine world artist records were set overall, most notably for the two cover lots: the Pistoletto’s ‘Metrocubo d’infinito’ and the ‘Self-portrait’ by Kippenberger. We saw 43 different buyers for 45 works of art in the Post-War and Contemporary Art auction, reflecting the continuing attraction and depth of interest in Post-War & Contemporary Art, as well as Christie’s convening power. The first three lots of the evening auction were by exciting young artists completely fresh to the forum and they substantially outgrew their estimates as well as their retail prices, marking a real statement in this Frieze week.”